In an open letter to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) being held in Perth this week, Ms Gillard and Mr Gates said getting rid of the disease would help create "stability, productivity and prosperity".

Australian foreign aid helped eradicate polio in Pacific island nations more than a decade ago.

It is expected the federal government this week will announce a further contribution to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the public-private partnership in charge of the worldwide campaign to eliminate the disease.

"We urge all the Commonwealth countries to pledge the necessary resources and commitment to end polio for good," wrote Ms Gillard and Mr Gates, who co-chairs the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

"In the countries where children are still at risk of being paralysed by polio, success depends on the dedication of leaders at every level of society to invest in polio campaigns as well as routine immunisation."

They said the world was at a crossroads, with polio cases cut by 99 per cent since 1988.

"We can either watch progress unravel, or focus our attention and resources to ensure no child has to suffer this crippling disease again," the letter said.

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"We have started the courageous fight against this disease and we must finish it, together."

Polio remains endemic in Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan, with a further three countries - Angola, Chad and Democratic Republic of the Congo - having re-established transmission of the disease.

Perth's Belvoir Amphitheatre will host the free End of Polio concert on Friday, featuring John Legend, Bliss n Eso, The Getaway Plan and Hungry Kids of Hungary.